Daily Struggles Due to Kenyan Drought

Today we are taking part in Blog Action Day, joining thousands of other bloggers around the world to post about the same topic – climate change. Blog Action Day started in 2007 as a way to get bloggers to create buzz around one subject. “The blogging community effectively changes the conversation on the web and focuses audiences around the globe on [one] issue,” Blog Action Day organizers say on their Web site, www.blogactionday.org.

In recent weeks we have seen Mother Nature at her worst. She has brought severe flooding to two countries we have visited for our “31 in 31” blog series – the Philippines and India. Today for Blog Action Day and our “31 in 31” series, we visit Kenya, another country hit by Mother Nature – or in this case, not hit. Kenya has an extreme drought. In many areas of Africa where ChildFund works, climate change has led to droughts lasting longer, causing famine and driving millions more people into poverty.

Children and families in Kenya struggle daily to get enough food because the lack of rainfall has led to severe crop destruction. The Turkana District in the northwest region of the country is experiencing high rates of malnutrition, especially for children under the age of 5.

The drought is leading to the deaths of hundreds of animals throughout the country, according to news reports. Kenyans rely on these animals as a source of nutritious food and as a means of income.

“This is a very ugly scene, a very disturbing scene that the country is facing,” Livestock Minister Mohamed Kuti told a Reuters blogger.

ChildFund International is conducting feeding programs and food distribution throughout the hardest hit areas where we work. We are distributing a highly nutritious food blend, known as “plumpy nut,” as an immediate and critical intervention for those already severely malnourished. In addition, we will provide oil, maize, beans and sugar. These few simple food items can mean the difference between life and death.

For the latest details on the drought situation in Kenya and other emergencies throughout the world, click here. For more information about our work in Kenya, click here.

More on Kenya
Population: 39 million
ChildFund beneficiaries: More than 1.1 million children and families
Did You Know?: You can find all of the “Big Five” African animals in Kenya: elephant, buffalo, lion, rhino and leopard.